


Aurora Borealis

by Puppetmaster13



Series: Subnautica Aus [2]
Category: Subnautica (Video Game)
Genre: Alternate Universe, Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Animal Attack, Animal Death, Bacteria - Freeform, Blood and Injury, Character Death, Cold Weather, Feral Behavior, Frostbite, Getting to Know Each Other, How Do I Tag, I Wrote This Instead of Sleeping, I fuck with the timeline, Implied/Referenced Sex, M/M, Many Pets, Minor Character Death, Mute Ryley, Other, Other Additional Tags to Be Added, Plague, Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder - PTSD, Seasons, Selectively Mute Ryley Robinson (Subnautica), Sharks, Subnautica Spoilers, Vomiting, Winter, changed timeline, eventually, human death, i make up lore, kharaa bacteria is momentarily neutralized, sorta - Freeform
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-03-19
Updated: 2020-12-24
Packaged: 2021-02-28 18:21:04
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings, Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 4
Words: 3,425
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23211673
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Puppetmaster13/pseuds/Puppetmaster13
Summary: When Ryley Robinson made it into the lifepod, he hadn’t been too afraid. He was an engineer after all- they had to deal with high risk situations all the time. His mind had raced with possibilities of what could have caused such structural damage just as much as his legs raced to the pods, but the list was rather small. The Aurora had been designed to withstand so many things so they could successfully build the warpgate. So while he was worried about what had brought the great ship down, he had had confidence that they’d be rescued. That had been nearly a month ago. Rescue wasn’t coming, and the supplies were getting low. He’d have to venture out eventually, but the storm outside wasn’t subsiding. He’d freeze in less than two minutes.Alternately, what if the Aurora had crashed on Planet 4546B during the Winter instead of the (presumed) Summer
Relationships: Other Relationship Tags to Be Added, Ryley Robinson & Bart Torgal, Ryley Robinson & Sea Emperor Leviathan
Series: Subnautica Aus [2]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1664266
Comments: 2
Kudos: 34





	1. Salutations

Consciousness came slowly at first, as though Ryley was slowly waking from a dream. There was a chill in the air that was lulling him back to awakeness, urging his eyes to open. When did Aurora become so cold? Wasn’t it supposed to be climate controlled? Ryley scrunched his face in confusion, cracking his eyes open blearily. Something was wrong. The Aurora wasn’t cold. It didn’t cause his breath to be visible or his hands to feel like lead. He tried to move, but something prevented him from doing so. His vision was unfocused, and as he brought a shaky hand to his face. It came back lukewarm and sticky. He was… bleeding?

The brunette’s eyes snapped open as the memories came rushing back. The alarm. The evacuation. The pod flying onto the planet’s surface. _The crash._ He jabbed at the release button, nearly panicking when it didn’t release fully and he had to force the clasp to unlock. The pda was on the floor- it had probably gotten thrown during the nasty “landing”. Tapping at it, the twenty-four year old waited impatiently for the digital assistant to boot up. Then he remembered the fact that he was bleeding and should probably fix that. Thankfully, the pod had a medical kit, which included disinfectant and bandages. 

_“You have suffered mild head trauma. This is considered a favorable outcome. This PDA has rebooted in emergency mode with one objective: to keep you alive on an alien world. Please refer to the databanks for detailed survival advice,”_ the female mechanized voice droned. _‘You don’t say!’_ Ryley snarked in his head, wrapping the last bit of bandages around his face. Hopefully his eye wasn’t permanently damaged. It would be rather annoying trying to survive until rescue with altered depth perception, not to mention having to gouge it out if it became too infected or began to rot. 

Pushing at the top hatch, the tan engineer hissed as a blast of freezing wind hit him straight in the face. Well… _that_ explained why he was so cold. As far as his eye could see, there was ice and snow. The sky was a light gray, and any water was covered by a thin layer of frost. How had he survived launching into a place like _this?_ It shouldn’t be possible- _he should be dead_ . None of the pods were designed to collide with such a solid surface. It didn’t matter if it had some buoyancy or give- he should _not_ have survived!

Shaking his head, he turned and nearly choked. Well, he found where the Aurora crashed. It was rather hard to miss after all. The once great ship was broken in half as though it was a flimsy toy. Both pieces were only partially above the ice, but there were almost crater-like formations around them, forming walls of ice rising even higher. Very hard to miss amidst the ever growing grays and blues as the sun died. _‘Shit!’_ he inwardly cursed. How many others had made it out? How many pods had crushed their passengers if they hit the surface? Ryley had been lucky. Oh so lucky.

Shivering, he closed the hatch. Surely _someone_ else had made it out right? The engineer checked the radio. ‘Shit…’ It was completely fried. There was no way he would be able to fix it without a repair tool, as much as he disliked said tool. It made his fellow engineers and maintenance staff lazy and out of practice when overused. Hence how he had been one of the head maintenance engineers. Oh well, that was in the past until he was rescued… if he was rescued. ‘No, none of that! Think positive thoughts Ryley Robinson!’ 

Shaking his head, he moved towards the lower hatch where he could see water and some sort of fish. Quickly, Ryley calculated how long he could maybe dive. Combining general distance, depth, and his physicality, he could stay under for maybe thirty seconds, max. Taking a deep breath, he dipped into the waters.

It was rather odd, he decided. The water was surprisingly warm, being roughly thirty degrees fahrenheit if the pda was to be believed. Probably because there were no freezing winds down here. Hell, it almost seemed calm! Quickly grabbing several outcrops, he kicked off back to his lifepod. Some copper and titanium. Not a bad haul. Though he should probably see if there was something edible or a way to melt the ice for water. Back out again…


	2. Chapter 2

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Poor Ryley...

Ryley figured he never had or would be more thankful for having a fabricator. Gravtraps were one of the most useful items, even more so now since they worked on both water and land. Plus, he was like four or five meters away from a forest of kelp-like plants which were edible, and the fibers and seeds could be used to fabricate plenty of supplies. Though he hadn’t done much above water besides place the grav trap, as he’d seen large bear-like creatures on the ice. Yeah, he was not dealing with those with only a tiny knife, and there weren’t any blueprints to other weapons. There was a massacre at some point, sure, but  _ really? _ Not everything could be defeated by a flimsy blade. At least the knife was useful for collecting materials faster…

Grinning, Ryley rolled the ribbon of creepvine fibers up. The small water-crocodile-things that lived in the forest lost their teeth every once in a while, but it was still pretty strong. If he could get some sort of strong stick- preferably some sort of metal rod- then he could make a spear. That would offer better protection against the bear things. Maybe. Hopefully. Knowing his luck, probably not, but oh well. You work with what you got. 

What he really had to watch out for in the shallower water was the  _ bigger _ crocodile things that liked to hang around vents. They were loud, armored, and highly aggressive. Last time he had ran into one, it almost took a foot off, while the smaller ones only really nipped at him. _ ‘All right!’ _ He stood and stretched, causing his joints to pop with a satisfying crack. ‘Let’s see what we have for food today!’ Calculating how far away placing the gravtrap optimally without it being too far had been a pain, but waking up with a few fish he didn’t have to swim after was well worth it. 

A couple peepers and a bladderfish. Not bad. Ryley turned to swim back to his pod, but froze. What… What was  _ that? _ It looked like some sort of shark, with an odd blue and yellow coloring. Thankfully it hadn’t noticed him,  _ yet _ . Bad news was that it was in between him and his pod. ‘Okay Ryley, you can do this. Just ignore the probably violent predator and swim by. You can do thi-’ It turned towards him, white glossy eyes staring into his soul. ‘I can’t do this!’ Sadly that was when his pda notified him that he had about a minute of air remaining. ‘Shit…’ If he didn’t get to his pod in time, he would drown.

Maybe he could go around? Ever so slightly he inched forward, eyes never leaving the large fish. It didn’t seem too interested, simply drifting along its way. Maybe he had been wrong with his assessment of it being aggressive. He was only a couple meters away from the hatch when it suddenly turned with a roar, charging straight at him. For a few seconds, Ryley was frozen, staring at the gaping maw that was fast approaching. Then the adrenaline kicked in and he ducked away as fast as he could. 

The shark hit the ice behind him with a crack, and Ryley couldn’t help but wince from the sound. It didn’t seem to bother the predator too much however, as it once again turned and let out that hissing bellow. ‘ShitShitShit!’ A human was made for land, not water! He kicked out, panic overtaking him. Thankfully, the shark once again missed swallowing him whole (if that was how the creature ate things), but its jaws clamped down on his foot with a resounding snap.

Biting his lip to stifle his scream, Ryley once again kicked at the beast using him as a chew toy. It wasn’t very effective. The water began to grow increasingly red, obstructing his vision, and his pda urged him to seek oxygen. His already hazy vision began to grow dark as he fumbled for the small survival knife.  _ ‘C’mon- Just-’ _ There! His hand wrapped around the handle, and he plunged it down. A cloud of yellow blood, and he was free. Ryley fumbled along the bottom of the ice blindly for a few seconds before his hand caught the hatch. 

The engineer took deep gasping breaths of air, dragging himself onto the metal floor. He nearly vomited at the sight of his leg. A large chunk of flesh was gone, with ribbons of muscle dangling around the barely visible bone. Torrents of blood flowed down to the cold hard flooring, and down into the already red water where small scavenging fish were already darting through. ‘F-fuck-!’ It seemed like the adrenaline wore off, as the pain hit Ryley full force. He wanted to scream, to cry, to curse, to go to sleep and never wake up- but that wouldn’t help him at all. 

_ “You have suffered major physical trauma. Databanks suggest taking care of any injuries before continuing.” ‘Oh, You don’t say!’ _ Ryley inwardly hissed at his pda.

He unceremoniously dragged himself to the storage module, gritting his teeth to keep from screaming each time his leg bumped against something. Apparently he was using his homemade bandages sooner than expected. Placing part of the role in his mouth to keep him screaming, Ryley gagged. ‘Okay, okay, this won’t hurt anymore than what’s already been done-’ “Ngh-!” Pouring the rest of the bottle of disinfectant on the wound made his nerves feel like they were on fire once more, and Ryley was ever thankful that he had gagged himself. Who knew what would be attracted towards the sound of his pained screaming.

Wrapping the bandages around his injury actually brought a sense of comfort, as though it assured him that everything was going to be alright. Everything  _ wasn’t _ alright though! He was in a generally safe area- and one single predator did this to him easily! What about any other pods that had launched and landed in more dangerous areas? What if no one else had made it? Ryley covered his face with his hands, trying to rub away the tears. Had anyone else survived? Had Ozzy made it? Had Khasar? Keen? Berkeley? It had been a couple days- yet there were no signs of other life. Was Ryley alone?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I hope you enjoyed the chapter and are all doing alright! ^-^   
> So, despite the fact it will probably be later in the story, should anyone on Sunbeam survive? Or should Ryley stay alone?


	3. Chapter 3

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> He gets a small break

Ryley withheld a cry as his recovering foot hit the edge of the closing hatch. Even if he was injured, he couldn’t simply stay idle. Food and water may be below the ice, but most of the supplies from the Aurora had been thrown onto the ice. If he could get a repair tool, or maybe even a habitat builder, hell, even just more medical supplies, he’d forever be thankful. Knowing his luck though, that wasn’t going to happen. Really though, at this point any supplies would be great, just to tide him over until his leg had recovered enough to swim. 

Limping over to the gravtrap, he nearly shouted in joy. There wasn’t much, just a few metal scraps and rods, but it was  _ salvageable. _ And scraps could be converted to titanium, which could be used to build things. Smiling thinly (as he was still gritting his teeth from the spasms of pain traveling up his nervous system), he hobbled back to the life-saving pod, this time uninterrupted. Well sorta. He did pause to watch a couple of penguin looking things slip to and from a couple pockets of broken ice for a few moments before his pda reminded him that it was in fact, very cold on the surface. 

By the time he got back to his lifepod, he was wheezing and his leg was trembling. That was rather unfortunate. Thankfully his lifepod was partially frozen under the ice so he barely had to climb up a ladder. Though that did make him wonder if he’d have to worry about the pod going fully under and trapping him. Just another reason to find or fabricate a habitat builder he supposed. Him pulling himself out of the water continuously this last week was increasing his arm strength farther than what he had thought possible. Groaning, he flopped down in front of the storage. At least he could make that spear, right? And he had saved the nutrition blocks and a couple water bottles to ration out! 

Hopefully he would have enough creepvine fibers for making said weapon. Searching through his mess of supplies, he frowned. There was barely a third of a roll left- only enough to make a single spear if he was careful. Well, better than nothing right? He had gotten lucky with the shark, stabbing it in its eye in his panic. He probably wouldn’t be as lucky next time something decided he was food. 

Huffing, the brunette shuffled over to the corner where he had laid an extra dive suit down to act as bedding. He opened his mouth a couple of times, letting out raspy hums before coughing. After a few sips of his water rations though, and his voice sounded fine. A little hoarse, and maybe a little slow, but he could speak. “Ryley’s Log, day nine. I-I haven’t been able to get into contact with anyone else yet, a-as the radio is stil b-busted. Didn’t get any tools th-that I needed while I w-was on the ice, but I got some scrap and was able to make a spear.” He let out a wheezy chuckle. “H-hopefully I won’t have to worry about a-another shark thinkin’ I’m f-fish food with it. O-or the bear-things. I h-haven’t had an encounter with one of them y-yet, so who knows?” 

A slight cough, his throat once again beginning to itch. “My leg is healing though, s-so that’s good. Ideally I’ll be able to swim and g-get food within a couple of d-days…” There. His throat felt clogged up, refusing to say another word or sound. It was more than his last log at least. Letting out a sigh, Ryley leaned back against the curved walls. He would need to go further on the top of the ice soon. If he was lucky, there would be supplies in easy walking distance. If he wasn’t, well, he had a spear to protect himself at least. Curled up against the uncomfortable paneling, it almost felt like he was back on the Aurora. 

There was always an unnatural stillness in space that was combated by the hustle and bustle of the ship. Even when alone in his room, there was the humm of the machinery. It almost felt like that, except there were extra additions such as the wind and the far off screeches of alien fauna. Even then, it was comforting. 


	4. Chapter 4

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Two Chapters in one day.
> 
> . . . 
> 
> Also, Crashfish.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Yeah, sorry I haven't been updating any of my stories guys. Real life has been kicking my butt lately, and my motivation has been at zero. Thank you all so much for being patient, and I'm hoping to update my other stories soon.

Ryley winced as he made his way out of the pod and into the water. He probably shouldn’t be doing this, but he needed more food and creepvine. The fiber might not do much against the cold, but it was rather resistant to wear and tear. Which, as he needed some sort of armour, and as much as it would be cool to have metal armour beaten into a knight’s, it would be far too heavy and clunky. Shaking his head in bemusement at his thoughts, Ryley slipped farther down into the creepvine trenches, easily avoiding the small alligator creatures. They usually ignored him if there was smaller prey, such as the fish with the eyes that took up half their body. 

The trenches were even warmer as he swam down, allowing a different coloration of the plant to grow in the caverns. The first time he had seen the gaping maws in the rock, it had been dark, and the only light came from the seed clusters, bathing the holes in dim yellow-pink light. Needless to say, he didn’t really like heading into said caves. And he wasn’t going to attempt to do so with an injured leg- was that an egg? Ryley turned towards the very entrance. It was! A semi-transparent red egg with some sort of creature squirming inside sat alone just at the edge. 

Picking it up, it easily fit in his hands. What would it grow into? Ryley smiled as the creature inside gave a little wriggle as he set it back down onto the sand. He wouldn’t want to accidentally kill it. (There had been enough unnecessary death already) Perhaps this was a sign that everything would turn out fine in the end? The brunette peered into the darkness. He could see a couple of bulb-like plants peeking out from the gaping darkness, but nothing else. Maybe he could scan the closest one? 

Taking a deep breath to try and steady his hammering heart, and taking the chance to check his oxygen, Ryley dove down. The shadows swallowed him in darkness, the only light coming from his pda and scanner. The gauze clung to his face uncomfortably, and his limbs shook with the dead weight of an immeasurable amount of water. His burgundy eyes flashed to every crevice, searching for danger. Nothing instantly jumped out, but the brunette still opted to stay wary. 

Stilling his limbs’ shaking, Ryley reached out to the unfurled plant. There was nothing there, just a couple plants. Yet he couldn’t help but to feel as though he was in danger. Taking a deep breath of oxygen (and then cringing as he realized what a waste it probably was,) the brunette’s fingers brushed along the unfurled edges. Nothing. He let out a shaky breath, which soon changed to near hysterical laughter. There was nothing there- so why was he so on edge?!  _ ‘Damn, I must be going paranoid,’ _ the survivor ran a hand through his hair, witholding a sigh. 

A gleam within the shadows gained his attention. There was the tip of something shiny, which sparkled in the weak streams of light. Was that… silver? Did he need silver? Racking his brain, yes, silver was needed for something very important: a better oxygen tank. If he gets a better tank, he can go deeper, maybe find somewhere to make a self sufficient base. The pod would be frozen over soon- he’d maybe get a week at most before he’d be without shelter. Well, he was so close to it anyway… Slipping closer, his gloves curled around the hard material. 

Suddenly there was a loud screaming noise, causing him to kick back in surprise. There was a red blur careening towards him from the shadows, letting out an unholy shriek as it did so. Ryley screamed, bringing his arms up towards his head. It seemed small enough to not do too much damage if he protected his face. 

The fish started shaking as it grew closer- he could see it in more detail. With bright red and black scales and sharpened spikes lining a spherical body. Even as he tried to kick his way away from it, it kept getting closer, its single eye locked onto him. With a final increase of volume- it  _ burst _ . 

Ryley was no biologist, but he’s pretty damn certain  _ exploding _ oneself is not a desirable trait to evolve. His hands shook, pain racing upwards. He didn’t have any gloves, and he could see the flakes of skin and blood in the current of his thrashing.  _ ‘Fuck.’ _ Why did it seem like every time he set a foot into this ocean he gained a new injury. His foot hadn’t even healed yet, and here he was with burned hands. Which were the things he needed to use for practically everything.

It didn't really hit him until he was back in the safety of the pod just how bad it was. Blisters were already beginning to form on his hands, and the chilled air did little to help his pain.  _ ‘Shit, fuck that hurts. Why oh why, did we come to this godforsaken icy hell?’ _ Ryley inwardly hissed as he wrapped his hands in the last of his homemade bandages. He was cold, wet, and in pain. Even the safety of the lifepod didn’t make him feel any better. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> (For dealing with burns and scalds, you shouldn’t use ice or ice water. Sadly, Ryley is on a planet covered in both. He’ll start getting better though- I swear!)

**Author's Note:**

> Ideas/Criticism is Welcomed! I'll be going for roughly 20 chapters, but we'll see how long that stays. ^-^


End file.
